Blanchester and Wilmington have dominated the SBAAC standings in recent years.
Wilmington has won the last three American Division crowns, including the last two as unbeaten league champs under head coach Doug Cooper.
Claire Burns went to the state tournament last season and is easily the league’s top player as she enters her senior season.
The Ladycats have won outright or shared nine of the past 10 titles under head coach Matt Sexton and won each court in last season’s league tournament.
Blanchester
Matt Sexton can put his Blanchester High School tennis program up against any other program in Clinton County.
Sexton and the Ladycats have won 11 league titles in the past 13 seasons.
And Sexton should have his BHS squad right in the thick of things again as six of the seven first-team players last season were underclassmen. Taylor Bradley was the lone senior among the group.
“I like the returning experience and the competitive nature of our returners,” said Sexton, 10 times National Division coach of the year and a two-time GCTCA Distinguished Coach award winner. “If everyone is healthy, this could end up going down as the best team I’ve had at BHS in 16 years. It’s also the largest team I’ve ever had with 17 players there on day one.”
Maddy Coyle was National Division player of the year in 2020 and is again bidding for top spot among first singles players. There are four freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors on the squad.
After splitting its first four matches, Blanchester reeled off 13 straight wins to close the season. BHS was 15-2 overall, 8-0 in the National Division. In the tournament, BHS won all five courts.
Sexton will again be assisted by brother Michael Sexton. In all they’ll have seven returning letterwinners on the court this season, including Coyle, Grace Irwin, Annie Trovillo, Rianna Mueller, Abbey Irwin and Maggie Caldwell. All were first team all-league.
Leah Boegeman, Gracie Kaehler and Carolyn Bockhorst also return. There also will be eight first-time players on the roster.
”My three singles players have been leaders for the last couple years and I don’t expect it to be any different this year,” said Sexton. “This is a senior-laden group, so I expect strong leadership up and down the lineup. We should have two very formidable doubles teams this season.”
Sexton added, “I really like this group. I’m going to really make sure to savor every moment of this season no matter how it turns out.”
Clinton-Massie
The Lady Falcons were 0-14 last season, including 0-10 against SBAAC American Division rivals.
Vanessa Asher, a second team all-league player, was a junior last season at CMHS.
Clinton-Massie is coached by Julie Kirby.
East Clinton
The East Clinton tennis team struggled in 2020, going 1-8.
The top finish for the Astros last season was the third place second doubles team of Katie Carey and Emmy Chambliss.
Both Carey and Chambliss return, as does Myah Anteck.
Doug Stehlin is in his sixth season as the head for the Lady Astros. He said there are three newcomers, Stephanie Lambert, Jenna Stanley and MacKenzie Woodward, who will see court time for ECHS.
“All three returnees are very involved with helping the three new players learn and get better,” said Stehlin.
Holly Bernard, 2020 graduate, and Natalee Anderson are not returning to the tennis team this season, Stehlin said.
Stehlin sees better days ahead for East Clinton. “They are a good group of kids that are wanting to learn how to play tennis,” he said.
It’s just a matter of getting in more time on the court. With six players on the team, he’d also like one more player to be able to field a complete lineup.
“Just need more time to practice and get better and at least one more player,” he said. “I would like to see my returnees step it up and continue to show improvement from last year. As a team, I hope we can work hard and be competitive in matches and at the league tournament.”
Wilmington
The success of the Wilmington girls tennis program begins at the top with singles players Claire Burns and Jenna Taylor.
Burns gets most of the headlines. And rightfully so. She’s won two straight SBAAC player of the year honors, has been first team all-league each of her three seasons at WHS and qualified for the the state tournament last fall. Burns was 29-6 last season, with all six losses to state qualifiers.
But Taylor can hold her own with any other player in the league. She was unbeaten at second singles and has been a three-time All-SBAAC first team player. She is currently fifth on the all-time WHS wins list. Allison Brooks is first with 85 while Burns stands second with 80.
“Claire and Jenna will once again be aiming to qualify for districts and state,” said Doug Cooper, in his 10th season as head coach at WHS. “They’ve been tirelessly honing their skills for years and we’re very excited about our non-conference schedule and looking to be competitive at sectionals.”
The top loss for the Lady Hurricane is Emilee Pham, who was first team at third singles. “Emilee has left a huge hole in our lineup. It remains to be seen how we fill it,” Cooper said.
Wilmington return three starter and five letterwinners from last season.
Wilmington blitzed the American Division field with a sparkling 10-0 record and finished 11-8 overall. The non-league schedule was brutal. WHS lost to Loveland, Kings, Chaminade-Julienne, Sycamore, Bellbrook, Valley View, Eaton and Miami Trace. That’ll be the same in 2021 as the Hurricane looks to improve with strong non-conference teams and individuals.
“Our first goal each season is to try to win a conference championship; we have our work cut out for us there,” said Cooper. “Our non-conference schedule is once again as strong as anyone’s around our area, so Claire and Jenna will have some big featured matches in those. We are always trying to improve our doubles play, and our doubles tournament August 14 will be a valuable part of that.”
WHS has won four league titles and 74 matches in Cooper’s nine season. He’ll be assisted this season by Keith Gilbert and Steve Reed.
Newcomers to note, Cooper said, are Reagan Henry, Layna Holmes and Cary Holliday. Cooper said Avni Patel has helped coach the middle school team while Josie Heys has been helping coach the Wilmington Area Tennis Association summer youth program.
“We have a mix of players with high level success, SBAAC experience, and a handful of untested freshmen who have been working extremely hard this summer,” said Cooper. “We will need our more experienced players to both elevate their own games as well as help the newcomers learn how to compete and win in high school tennis.”
